The Choice

Molly and Moby symbolize their respective owner’s personal strengths. Molly, Gabby’s dog, begins the novel in an uncertain state. She is pregnant, and Gabby does not know which neighborhood dog is responsible. This mirrors Gabby’s uncertain emotional state at the beginning of the novel. This event is the novel’s inciting incident as it sets up the meeting between Gabby and Travis. Gabby’s first objective in the novel is to find out what happened to Molly, and this leads her to go over to Travis’s house to confront him during their first meeting.

Moby, Travis’s dog, exemplifies his carefree, playful, athletic qualities. During their first meeting, Moby accidentally knocks Gabby down while he is fetching a frisbee Travis threw to him. This startling encounter symbolizes how meeting Travis emotionally destabilizes Gabby. It also sets her up to be angrier at Travis, which serves a plot function. When it turns out that Moby is not the father of Molly’s puppies, it symbolizes that Travis is not guilty of the bad qualities with which Gabby associates him.

Molly’s puppies cause chaos in Gabby’s life, which is symbolic of the emotional chaos she experiences. Again, this leads her to Travis, as he builds her a pen for the puppies and tends to Molly when she needs emergency medical attention.